ummmmm... i was told to do this bio. thingy.  im not exactly sure what to type.  i guess i'll just talk about my influences and what not.  no matter what i type, alex is going to put several sentences in different fonts... or underline random words.. or bold random words.  thats right, its supposed to look "weird" or something.  different from the usual bios.  But, whatever.  Lets get started, shall we?

 

Influences:  This is a hard one to do, not because i don't like bands, but because the bands that influence me to play aren't usually bands i listen to often.  so im going to try my best to split them up.  first off, lets talk about the bands i love to listen to and enjoy seeing in concert.  Possibly my favorite band would have to be Incubus, i fell in love with these guys when "Make Yourself" first came out (it was actually a Christmas gift for my brother.. and i eventually took it back from him).  With each album i feel they have evolved has a band for the best.  "A Crow Left Of The Murder" is currently in constant rotation in my car cd player.  I love this album.  I think its their best album yet, and i know they will only get better.  Lets move on.  For the sake of you...the reader..  i will no longer explain in detail how i love each of the following bands and which album of theirs i enjoy the most.  I very much love Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters, Cave-In, Sparta, Mars Volta, oh how i loved very much Rage Against the Machine...  ("Evil Empire" is one of the best albums...ever), Collective Soul, Weezer, Enon, DEFTONES (these guys are amazing. I've had the privilege to see them twice in concert and both rank in the top 5 best concerts iv been to), Dishwalla, old Our Lady Peace, Beatles, Rolling Stones, Feeder, System of A Down, Pearl Jam, Green Day, Jimmy Eat World, At The Drive-In ("Relationship Of Command" is one of the best albums ever.

 

Now for some fun facts about Austin:

He loves all animals, especially his cat Spud and his dog Gidget.

Although he complains about it a lot; he actually enjoys mowing... (riding lawn mowers only).

He loves watching movies.  "Good movies relieve stress" -austin

He loves playing video games.  His favorite are stealth action games and online Socom, but he also enjoys getting together with the friends for some multiplayer Time Splitters (virus is the best ever), Mario Kart, Smash Brothers, and even Halo.

In his free time he likes to watch TV, sit by the computer, sit outside, play in the hose, or take walks. 
austin ward: drums, vocals, guitar

(updated 7/7/04)

born: february 9, 1987

 
Now im going to talk about bands or artist that truly inspire me to be a musician and influence my playing style. To start with i must mention Led Zeppelin.  I love this band.  John Bonham is the greatest drummer to have ever rocked the world.  His style and ability has been a great inspiration for me and i hope to eventually be half the drummer he was.  Next.  Why im already talking about drumming influences i might as well mention Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins, both in Foo Fighters.  They both have a similar drumming style that plays a big part in how i perform.  Also i must mention Travis Barker from Blink 182, Joey from Slipknot, Abe from Deftones, and Jose Pasillas II from Incubus.  All have greatly inspired me.   

Moving on to Collective Soul.  I've seen these guys in concert too many times to remember and every time i left the concerts with more excitement and energy to go and write some really kick ass songs  (although i never could because im a terrible song writer.. but thats beside the point).  Every song of theirs has a catchy melody and rhythm that makes you want to dance or just jump up and down.  Their music has a great influence on a lot of the songs we write as a band.  Lastly, i must mention the greatest influence and inspiration of all, my father.  He got my brother and i started in the whole music thing and without him i know i would have not turned out to be the person i am today.  All my musical talent is credited to him.  I would also like to thank my brother for inspiring me to try and be a better musician in any way, shape or form.  I honestly have to say without him, i would not know any of the above bands i listed.  I would most likely be listening to Nelly and Matchbox 20 and watching American Pie everyday if it wasnt for his elegant taste in music and movies and his willingness to share them with me...  

 

mmm.. now that i have started my thank you list, i might as well continue it.  I would like to thank my parents and family for their support and money.  All our friends that go to every show to make us feel like we're not just playing for ourselves.  Our roadies (trotter and tanner) for their...strength. thanks for letting me relax.  I would like to thank anyone who has ever been to a show.  A special thanks to the people who take the time to say good job to us after a show, it really means a lot. Thank you to all our fans who have supported us for this long and have kept us motivated. And thank you, whoever is reading this, for taking the time out of your busy schedule to get to know me a little better.

Quick story.  I was going to see At The Drive-In in concert about 3 years ago, right when they were beginning to finally get the recognition they deserved, and one week before the concert, i read on their official website that they were "taking a break" and the rest of the tour would be cancelled.  At that point in time, i became pretty devastated, but i tried to keep my hopes up by thinking about how they would reschedule and i would see them eventually.  The next day i checked the website again only to find out they were officially breaking up.  I was crushed, and i am still crushed to this day. It doesnt help that the influence At The Drive-In left on the music scene has turned into the crap it is today.  Its easy to tell what bands were strongly influenced by At The Drive-In and how none of them can ever be as great.  It also upsets me how bad they are.  The first band i noticed that tried to be like At The Drive-In, and failed miserably, was Thursday.  I hate this band.  Sure the vocalist has a very unique voice that is different from a lot of bands around, but its a very bad unique.  I'm not sure when singing out of tune and having a back up harmony consisting of yelling crappy lyrics became such an important element for bands.  Frankly i think that crap sucks.  Im just rambling on now.  No one cares what im saying.  but before i stop, let me list a couple more bands that i hate:  Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, Thursday, Simple Plan, The Calling (haha), Coheed and Cambria, Yellowcard, New Found Glory, Godsmack, Taproot... haha, im sorry, im going to stop now...  i could go on forever and i dont want to offend people.  Moving on.  

 

Favorite colors: dark blue, dark green, dark purple.

Favorite foods: cereal, fruits, hot pockets.  He loves berries, any berries.

Favorite movies: too hard to decide. sorry. 

 

Now for some fun facts about Austin:

Although he's not very athletic; he enjoys soccer, basketball and baseball.

He loves flannel shirts, and has quite the collection.

He likes to wear the same clothes everyday. (that doesn't include undershirts, socks, and boxers)

Austin usually takes 3 to 4 showers a day, washes his hands and brushes his teeth every hour, and always has to feel clean.  He is also scared of putting any type of product on his skin (lotion, bug spray, etc...)

Every morning Austin engulfs cereal with either: melted peanut butter or honey.